Creamy Slow Cooked Pork Casserole - perfect comfort food!
This is my kind of Friday night dinner when it's been raining and miserable all day and you just want something really tasty to warm you up from the inside.
I'd contentedly scoff every bit of this dish, but that sauce over mashed potatoes? Yes, I could eat that for the rest of my life and not get bored.
The meat is browned and then slow cooked with stock and cider until lovely and tender. I like to chuck a few veggies in - just to make it a little bit healthier, and then it's served on creamy mashed potatoes, and finished off with crispy fried bacon lardons or pancetta.
Sometimes referred to as Somerset Pork casserole (this is generally made using a dry Somerset cider, and with the addition of apples in the sauce) or Normandy Pork (made using french cider or brandy, apples, crème fraîche and bacon lardons, sometimes dijon mustard too), I like to pick a few flavours from both. So for me it's:
- Dry cider (alcoholic version)
- Cream rather than crème fraîche (sometimes crème fraîche can split, so I prefer to use cream - make sure it's double/heavy cream though - the higher the fat content, the less likely it is to split.)
- Crispy bacon lardons - Often these are crisped up, then cooked in the casserole with the pork, but I prefer to sprinkle them on at the end so they retain all the crispy saltiness.
- I sometimes make it with apple slices. If you do, just add them for the last 15-20 minutes of cooking so they don't go mushy.
This Creamy Slow Cooked Pork Casserole is a really good meal to make ahead and then reheat later. It's also great when you're cooking for lots of people - a large batch that everyone can spoon out onto their plates is ideal. Plus it's easily made gluten free too.
The Creamy Slow Cooked Pork Casserole Recipe:
Creamy Slow Cooked Pork Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 500 g diced pork
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp celery salt - optional – I find it adds a nice savoury flavour
- 1 onion - peeled and chopped
- 12 baby mushrooms - chopped in half
- 2 carrots - peeled and chopped
- 250 ml dry cider (hard cider if you're in the USA) - (usually gluten free, but best to check)
- 420 ml chicken or vegetable stock - (water plus 2 stock cubes is fine, or use 2 tsp bouillon for gluten free)
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 150 g bacon lardons or chopped streaky bacon
- 1 tbsp cornflour cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
- 60 ml double (heavy) cream
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
To Serve
- Mashed potatoes
- Steamed kale or other green veg
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 170C/325F.
- Heat 1 ½ tbsp of the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish until hot. Add the pork, salt, pepper and celery salt and brown on all sides - it should take around 6-8 minutes.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add in the onion. Cooked for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onion softens.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a further two minutes, then add the carrots, cider, stock and dried thyme. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Stir and scrape up any bits than may have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Place a lid on the pan, and place in the oven for 2 ½ to 3 hours*, until the pork flakes apart when you press it with a fork. Check a couple of times during the last hour of cooking and add a splash of water or stock if it's starting to look a little dry.
- Just before the casserole comes out of the oven, heat the remaining ½ tbsp oil in a frying pan and cook the bacon lardons until crispy. Turn off the heat.
- Remove the casserole from the oven and stir in the cornstarch and water mixture to thicken, then stir in the cream. Taste and season with a little more salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle on the bacon lardons.
- Serve with green veg on top of mashed potatoes. Sprinkle on a little chopped parsley before serving.
✎ Notes
Nutrition
Equipment:
In order to make this Creamy Slow Cooked Pork Casserole recipe you will need:
-
- A good Kitchen knife. I have recently bought this Dalstrong one and love it.
- Chopping Board
- Casserole pan
- Measuring Spoons
- A frying pan/skillet
- Wooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.
- Potato Ricer HINT: Using a potato ricer makes the smoothest mash potato you will every taste. I recommend getting one!
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Fran says
I want to make double the quantity of this recipe, does it require a longer cooking time?
Fabulous recipe
Angie Murphy says
Made this fir the first time last weekend. It was absolutely delicious. Will be making it again tomorrow, looks like a new weekend favourite. I added apple, french beans 40 mins from the end with the cream and cornflour mix and added a few dumplings 10 mins later.
Meg says
I made this with a few adaptations since I don't have an oven. In place of the casserole dish, I used my cast iron skillet on the stovetop.
I used 1 lb of pork butt (which turned out to be plenty for two people with leftovers to spare) and browned that, cubed, in my cast iron skillet. Once that was done, I poured it into my crockpot.
I skipped step 3 since I don't like onions and went straight to step 4 while omitting the mushrooms in that step (also don't like). Once that was all finished, I poured everything into the crockpot over the pork and cooked on low for 6 hours.
While that was stewing, I cooked the bacon in the cast iron skillet then mixed it in with everything else in the crockpot in the last hour. I used higher quality bacon from the butcher counter that was thick and marbly -- it very much lent to the overall flavor.
In step 6, I removed about a cup of the broth from the crockpot so that I'd have a denser sauce, and I about doubled the cornstarch mixture.
It all turned out absolutely heavenly! The pork was extremely tender and flavorful, and the carrots were cooked perfectly and really held the flavor of the cider quite nicely. I used Angry Orchard Crisp Apple hard cider -- excellent flavor!
I made mashed potatoes using Yukon Golds and left the skin on a few of the potatoes, then I mashed while adding about a quarter cup of melted butter at a time. They turned out perfectly. I also made Brussels sprouts and cooked them in the bacon fat from earlier; also delightful.
This was the first meal I've ever cooked for my boyfriend, and it was a hit! Thanks, Nicky!
Nicky Corbishley says
Thanks Meg - your version sounds magnificent 🙂
Emma Mellng says
Hi!! I’ve made this recipe many times, myself and my partner adore it. I have been cooking it in the oven, as the instructions say. But, I’ve just bought my first slow cooker, and I’m eager to do this in it. My question however, my slow cooker only has low, high and warm settings. The side note however say, cook on low for 6-8 hours or medium for 5-6 on medium, would this be the high setting? Or do other cookers have a low, medium and high? I’d just like to clarify as the 5-6 hours would be more suitable. Many thanks!! X
Elaine says
This is the first time I have left a review on a recipe for one reason - its amazing. We always do this in slow cooker and the house smells amazing when its cooking. So easy, so tasty, highly recommend
Kate says
This sounds lovely. I don’t often cook pork, what would you say would be the best to use diced pork shoulder or loin ?
Thanks
David Robinson says
We absolutely love this meal and are greatful to you for submitting the recipe.
We do have added a couple of twists to suit the size/taste of our family.
Swapped onion for leek, went to 2KG of diced pork and doubled the amount of vegetables and cream.
The corn flour wasn't needed as I boil off some of the excess liquid before adding the cream and it comes out beautifully.
Tony Clewett says
Delicious and easy to make particularly in a slow cooker. Perfect for a tasty winter’s meal.
Joan says
Excellent!! Tasted as good as it looks
Emma says
I am not a keen cook & don't cook often but I fancied this & did this recipe in the slow cooker. Stuck to the ingredients with a few slight changes & it is delicious. Really easy to prepare & make, plenty of it & really creamy. Will definitely cook again really enjoyed it.
Katie says
A lot of luck needed here, no cider so mixed in apple juice and cider vinegar. Hoping I haven't destroyed this dish!
Chris Corbishley says
Hi Katie,
I hope it worked out ok for you?
Thanks
Chris & Nicky
Lorraine says
Absolutely scrummy! Really could not believe how tasty this casserole was. So economical, can't wait to make it again! Looking forward to trying your other recipes 🙂